WOONSOCKET, RI — The Grand Hall of the historic Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, RI recently received a new sound reinforcement system featuring a selection of EAW components, including AX Series full-range loudspeakers, EAW Commercial CAZ Series power amplifiers and an MX8750 digital signal processor. The system also includes a Mackie Onyx 4880 house mixing console. After being shuttered for more than 20 years, the Stadium Theatre Foundation raised the funds, resulting in the 2001 grand re-opening of the venue, which has been completely restored. Currently, the Stadium Theater hosts more than 90 events a year, ranging from full-scale concerts to theatrical productions to lectures.
Earlier this year, the foundation sought a sound reinforcement system to replace the previous system serving the Grand Hall, a shoebox-shaped room with approximately 1,100 seats split between the main floor, balcony and side boxes. The system development team included Stadium Theatre tech director Dan Peloquin and Providence-based sound/production company ATR/Treehouse, as well as Mary Cook, Scott Jordan and Joe Fustolo of the EAW Application Support Group (ASG).
The team formulated a new house system with main left and right loudspeaker clusters made up of single EAW AX396 full-range loudspeakers (with 90-degree by 60-degree coverage pattern) above two EAW AX122 dual 12-inch loaded subwoofers that feature a trapezoidal cabinet. The clusters are flown with a hardware solution provided by rigging specialists Polar Focus.
The new system also offers another single AX396 center loudspeaker to provide voice/spoken word reinforcement, mounted horizontally. In addition, four EAW UB12S compact loudspeakers were also specified to provide frontfill to the first few seating rows.
All loudspeakers are driven by EAW power amplifiers rack-mounted in a remote upper floor room adjacent to the stage area, including seven model CAZ2500 amplifiers dedicated to the house loudspeakers (bi-amp mode) and subwoofers (bridged mono). A single CAZ1400 amplifier, also in bridged mono mode, powers the four UB12 frontfill loudspeakers.
An EAW MX8750 digital signal processor joins the amps in the rack. Four output channels of the eight-channel unit are dedicated to left and right full-range loudspeakers (two channels each), and two more channels provide mono-summed output to the center loudspeaker. Another mono-sum output feeds the subwoofers.
The system's Mackie Onyx 4880 console, centrally located on the main floor at the house mix position, was selected for a variety of reasons, with ease of use and channel count topping the list. The Mackie board also offered the desired balance of pro caliber performance and features, and a price that fit the budget requirements for the project.
Given the extreme differences in expertise on the part of its users from night to night, the console also had to be operator friendly, while still meeting rider expectations. "In general, this system is very easy to operate," concludes Peloquin, "and the Mackie console is just right, simple, yet sounding great."
For more information visit www.eaw.com.
Photo Caption:
EAW Stadium Console – The system's new Mackie Onyx 4880 console located at the house mix position.
